Device for feeding envelops to type-writing machines



3 Smetssheet B. S. WASH.

Patented June 15, 1897.

(No Mdel.)

DEVICE FOR FEEDING ENVELOPS T0 TYPE WRITING MACHINES. No. 584,435.

\ 3 Sheets-Sheet E.

(No Model.)

B s WASH DEVICE FOR EEEDING ENVELOPS T0 TYPE -'WRITING MACHINES.

,435. Patented June V15, 1897;

` in section, of my improved envelop-feeding velops may be predetermined, said train acting as apower medium to actuate the train'- veuted'a certain new and useful Improvefiala Ntra STATES BENJAMIN S. lVSlII, OFy S'I. LOUIS, ISRUNER, TRUSTEE,

PATENT OFFICE.

MISSOURI, AssiGNoa 'roJAoon E. oF Bowie, TEXAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,435, dated June 15, 1897. Application filed December 11. 1895. Serial No. 571,741- (Nemodel.)

To (all trimm it Vmuy concer/n y Be it known that I, BENJAMIN S. WASH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have iument in Devices for Feeding Envelopsto Type-lVriting Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and'exact description, reference boing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein Figure l is a front elevational view, partly machine. Fig. i. is a top plan View of the saine.. Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of my machine, showing the same mounted on the carriage of a type-writing machine. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View through the device.. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the manner of feeding the envelop to the type-writing niachine. Fig. 6 is a front view illustrating an approved form of ad justableslide. Fig. 7 is a sectional View therethrough. Fig. S is a modified form of feed-roller.4 l v p This' invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a device for' feeding envelops to type-Writing machines, the object bein g. to construct a device of the character'described which is adapted to be mounted on the carriage of the machine and feed envelopsto be addressed continuously and automatically to the platen of said machine.

'Vith this object in View the invention consists in combining with the carriage of a typewriting machine a suitable receptacle for the envelops to be printed and in arranging means upon said receptacle for making up a train of lapped envelops from the pile in the receptacle and feeding this train to and un- Yder the platen, said train-making mechanism. being so constructed that. the lap of the enlmaking mechanism. 1:.;

Another feature ofthe invention resides in the fe edrolle r,which determines the distance between each envelop or the extent of the lap of one envelop over another, said feed-roller being belted bytlexible, belts to an issuingroller having frictional contacting surfaces for the issuing envelop's at itsnends only,

which the slide may be adjusted.

whereby the increased thickness in the center ofl the envelop, due to the number of overlapping iiaps at that point, will not affect the issue of the envelops.

Another feature resides inthe means for raising the feeding-belts, so as Ato make practically a movable bottom in the receptacle l carrying the envelops, in which event the en- In the drawings, 6 indicates a suitable receptacle, preferably open at itstop, in which is placed a stack of envelops to be addressed, said envelops having their fla-ps facing up, the sealing end being at the front. Care should be taken in placing the envelops in their receptacle that they do not adhere to eachother and that their loose flaps do not include other envelops. v

Mounted in suitable guides 8 is an adjustable slide 9, which `is preferably formed with a tapering lower end, as -shown. This slide,I as shown in Figs'land 4,-is yielding in an upward direction and held in its normal position by a spring 10.

ll are bolts extendingfrom the side through a cross-bar of the receptacle said `bolts having thumbf-nutslion their /upper ends by In Figs. 6 and 7 'I have" shown amodied -form of slide in'which guide-rods 9b are arranged at its sides, said rods' being seated in pockets in an extension of the box 6.

are arranged around these rods, which exert an upward tension on the slide. Bolts Il adjust the vertical position of the slide. In this form the slide vhas an .upward eXtension, which passes behind the front crosspice of box` G, and this, inconnection with the rods 9", holds the slidefin place,'but admits of itsvertical adjustment,

By-adjust'in g this,

Springs` ro .tering into position to beissued.

. .justa-bility of the slide is necessary, not only vto accommodate different grades of paper of eo surfaces 17 on roller 13.

slide relative tothe issuing-roller the space thisnumber is decreased by one envelop passlng beyond the issuing-roller and from beneath the slide the slide will prevent any more than one envelop, in addition to thosel already between it and theissuing-roller, en- The adwhich the envelops are made, but to also accommodate different numbers of envelops as i5 fed by the feeding-rollers, as when the envelops are fed with but a short space between.

Mounted beneath the slide is an' issuingroller 13, whose construction is best seen in Fig. l. This roller preferably consists of a 2o tubular portion in whose ends are received collars 14 in the-form of pulleys, -said collars being mounted on a. suitable shaft 15, upon one end of which is arranged a knob 16, by which the roller 13 may be rotated either to z 5 start the continuous feed of the envelops, as

. when thedeviee is first put on the machine, or to feed the envelope singly tothe machine, as will hereinafter be described.

Arranged at the ends of roller 13'are raised 3o surfaces 17, which are preferably in the form of rubber sleeves. The object of having these -two'friction-surfaces at the ends of the roller and in leaving practically a recess or reduced portion in the center of the roller is to enable 354 the envelops to be guided more accurately in their movement, as in the center of some envelops there are about five thicknesses of paper, while nearer the ends three thicknesses of paper are usually found, at the most. It

4o will thus readily-be seen that if this frietional l surface was contin nous throughout the length of the roller when the five thicknesses of paper in the center of the'envelop were irl-.con-

tact with the roller the envelop would he held.. as on a pivot, rendering it liable to become disarranged in its path to the platen of the type-writing machine. In order to further allow for this increased thickness in the middle of the envelop, l preferably cut away the 5o\slide 9 at its center, as at U1. (Seen in Figs 1 and 6.) i

Mounted on the ends of spindle l'are adj-ustable frames 18, in the ends of' which is mounted a roller l5), which roller is belted by suitable flexible belts, preferably in the forln of rubber bands 20, to a roller 2l, mounted in slots in the end walls of the receptacle, which slots preferably containlight springs for forc.

' ing the belts 2O into contact with the friction- The adjustment of these frames is accomplished by forming slots in their inner or rear ends, which slots are concentric with the pivotal point thereof, which is'thc rod 15. Screws 18 pass through these slots into the endwallsof the receptacle and bind the frames 18111 their adjusted positions. -22 indicates a spindle whose ends pass through slots in the end walls of the receptacle and are mounted in nuts or blocks 23, arranged ou tside of the end walls. These blocks are tapped to receive threaded rods 24, mounted in suitable bearings on the end walls, and the ends of these rod s-prefe rably the rear end s-have worm-wheelsQ mounted on them, with which worm-wheels engage worm-screws 4on ,a rod 26, mounted at the back of vthe box,

A suitable handle (not shown) may be provided at one or both ends of rod 26,-by-which the same may be rotated.

Frein the above it will be seen vthat when therod 25 is rotated the worm-screws carried thereby, engaging the wheels 25, will rotate rod 24, upon which the blocks 23 are mounted. By the threaded connection between rod 24 and blocks 23,'upon the rotation of the former the blocks will be moved simultaneously longitudinally the rod, or backward and forward, depending upon the direction of rotation of the rod, and will carry with them the spin- 'dle 22.

Mounted on the rod and in line with the over an idler 30, which raises thcbelts out of contact with across-bar 29from which project pins 3l to engage seats in lugs 3:2 of a carriagev 33 of a type-writing machine, the same as the paper-rest is mounted.

Conjoined to pulleys 27' is a support for a feed-roller 34, which is prcferablyin the form of a rubber ring having a corrugated surface, said ring being mounted in a groovcd wheel 34, as showin The operation of the device as above described is as follows: Assuming the feeder to be mounted onl the carriage of type-uniting machine, as shown in Fig. El, alt the parts properly adjusted, and the envelops in position, it is only necessary tb turn the knob 1G until thelrst envelop is directed between the platen 35 of the type-writing machine and its pulleys or collars l-tare pulleys 27, belted to IOO as the yfeeding of the ii rst cn velop between ,the

platen and its idler 3G and under and around the platen will operate roller 13, belts'28, and

feedrollers 34. 'lhellrst' envelop will be line-spaced until in proper position to-be alldressed, and the act ot addressing a'nd linespaeing will feed the next envelop in position and place the iirst envelop inreadines's for removal from the machine. i f

To more fully explain Ithe above l will rcfcr to Fig. 5, in whiehwewill assume that a is an envelop whichhas been addressed and is readyk for removal. lVhen removed, envelop b is in position to be written upon without'further line-spacing the platen. ing upon envelop b the name of a person to whom the envelop is addressed, as John Sinith,"can be placed on onelin'e, his address,

In writing the address on one'line said address could as lreadil y be Writt en on two, which would require but one extra space to eject the Written lenvelop and place in position the next envelop to be written upon.

In Fig. envelop a is ready to beremoved,

` b is ready to be Written upon, and c is under platen 35 and is j'ust leaving roller 13. dis also under platen 35 and has not yet let t roller 13.

rollers 34. e is just passing beneath platen -35 and extends somewhat past slide 9. This envelop assists envelop d in rotating roller 13.

zo f is-being acted upon by envelop e and isbeing guided to its position between the platen and idler 36 by thebelt 2Q, This envelop has justleft the feeding-rollers 34, and said feeding-roller is now acting on the envelop g at the bottom of the pile 'and forcing 'it between the belts 2O and the roller 13.' In this manher a continuous-feed ofA the envelops is carried on, which requires little, if any, attentionjfrom the operator of the machine'.

If the envelope do notv occupy the proper position relative to the striking-point ofv the type, which might happen iflthelap of each A is not correct, this lap may be lengthened or shortened by rotating rod 26, which will move three or four lines, While in others they would occupy buttwo,A and it not being desired to line-space more than once to eject the envclop before the next envelop is in position to be written upon the feedvrollers could be so located that the .lap of the en velops would be made to accommodate a given number of lines Lvvritten upon each envelop.

It mi'lat some time be desirable #to fee the envelop singly and by hand, and in order to accomplish this I mounta rod 37 on spin dle 22, which rod-isv provided with rollers to engage andvraise the.belts ..28 above the periphery ofthe feed-roller 84, as shownby the dotted lines in Fig. 4. `When th-isjs done,

said feed-rollers 3 4 are thrown out of contact with the envelops, and when the roller 13' is stated by its knob 16 but oneenvelop at a time vvill'be fed ,to the platen o'n account of themovement ofthe entire bottom or'support-upon Jwhich the pile of envelops rest. Twsecure this rod 37 in its elevated position,

I provide a 'sleeve'on-"its endswhich embraces the rod 22 and passes through lche nut 23..A Thumb-nut 38 on the end of the sleeve, when."

tightened, .binds the nut 23 againstthe outer Envelop d in this position is the one .which actuates roller 13, belts 28, and feedenvelop cannot enter.

vthe device.

face of the end wall of the receptacle and the angular portion of arm 37 against the inner face of said end wall. By turning the rod 37 down and binding it in position the tension of belt 28 can be regulated.

It will of course be understood that in feeding one envelop at a time theslide 9 may be so adjusted toward the issuingroller 13 that 'but one envelop can pass between o1' be issued, the slide 9 holding back the remaining v envelops in the pile until lthe one issuing has been issued, when the next or bottom envelop of the pile will be in position to be issued. rlhe object of throwing the feed-rollers 34out of contact with the envelops is to` prevent the `rough surface of the feed-rollers from c'rowding the envelop next to the one being issued in under the slide 9 and choking'the machine. By elevating the belts 28l to make a movable or traveling bottom the envelop being issued is evenly supported, and as it rests on top of the belts and fills the space between the slide and issuing-roller the front end of the next Moreover, this next envelop has very little tendency to crowd forward,- as the friction of the belts themselves is very slight, and it is only when the issuingroller is in coperation with the slide 9 that the envelop is grasped firmly.

From the above it will be seen that when the feedingrollers are thrownout by elevating the belts 28 and the slide 9 is adj usted so as to permit but one envelop to be issued a rotation of the issuing-roller will move the belts 28 and cause a single envelop to be fed to the platen of the machine. This feature is valuable. in feeding sheets of paper as required, such as telegraph-blanks, dac.

I have described my invention as being especially designed for feeding envelops to type- Writing machines,but it is obvious that postal cards, telegraph-blanks, and other sheets of paper could as readily be fed without materially altering the method of operation of In feeding thin sheets of paper" IOO the slide 9 wouldhave to be adjusted, and

should it be desiredtoifeed postal cards it may be found advantageous to use a feed-roller 34, corresponding to roller 34,'having sharp metallic spurs, such as shown -in Fig. B, as these cards in original packages often adhere to each other tenaciously.

I amiaware that many minor changes in the constrtction, arrangement, and combination of vthe-.several parts of my devicefrnay be made and substituted for thosehereih shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my inven- Having thusilescribed my inventiomlwhat Lclaim, and desireto secure by'Letters Patent, is-A p 1. I In adevice for feeding snveiops to typewriting machines, the combination with the carriage and platen of said machine, of a receptacle onthe carriage for holding a pile of lenvelops, and means for malrimr up a train of lapped envelops'from the pile in the receptacle, and feeding this t-rain to and under described.

2. In a device for feeding envelops to type- Writing machines, the combination with the carriage and platen of said machine, of a rev ceptacle for the envelops mounted upon said carriage, and means for feeding a train of lapped envelops to and under said platen in such manner that the line-spacing movement of the platen advances the train of envelops -in such manner that, when the envelop which has been written upon, is removed, the nextsucceeding envelop in the train, is in position to be written upon and an envelop is added to the train, from the pile, to compensate for the removal of the finished envelop; substantially as described. Y 3.. The combination with the platen of a type-Writing machine, of an envelop-feeding device arranged in juxtaposition thereto, and means for feeding the'envelops from rsaid receptacle to the platen which means includes the envelops as a power mediumfor the feeding mechanism; substantially as described.

4. `flhe combination with the platen of a type-writing machine, of a device for feeding envelops thereto comprising a suitable receptacle for the cnvelops, a feeding-roller for initially acting on the envelops to determine the lap of cach, a frictionroller which is belted to said feeding-roller, and adjustable belts for directing the envelopsto the platen as they issue from their receptacle; substantially as described.

5. The combination with a suitable'rcccptacle for the envelops which is adapted to be attachedv to the carriage-ot' the type-writing machine, a feed-roller mounted in the bottom of said receptacle for initially acting uponthe envelops, anda roller located in the front end of said receptacle and belted to the feedroller above referred to, said last-named roller having a reduced portion in its middle and'frietion-surfaces at its ends; substant'ially as described.

6. The combination withv a suitable recepi tacle 'for the envelops, of an issuing-roller located in the bottom thereof, said roller consisting of atubular portion in the end of which are inserted collars, a shaft upon which. said collars arc mounted, and rubber sleeves vmounted on the ends of the tube; substantially as described. i y

7 The combination with the receptacle or box, of an issuing-roller having a reduced central portion, a slide which cooperates with said issuing-roller, said slide also being reduced in itsmiddle portion, whereby -the in,

creased thickness due to overlapping flaps will not affect the regular/feed of envelops,

and means for adjusting said slide relative to the issuin g-rol ler substantiail y 4as described.

S. The combination with a box or receptacle for the envelops, of an issuing-roller-f.-

mounted in the *lower front portion thereof, adjustable frames mounted on each side ofthe box, a roller mounted in said frames, a roller .2l mounted in the box, a belt or belts which pass around said last two rollers, said belt or belts contacting with the issuing-rollerand directing the envelop as it issues from the receptacle, and means for exerting a pressure against roller2l to force the belts in yielding contact with the issuing-roller;- substantially as described.

9. The combination with'a feed-roller for initially moving the envelop, of a yielding belt for operating said feed-roller, and means for throwing said feed-roller out of contact 1":

with the envelops; substantial] y as described.

vl0. The combination with the feed-roller for initially acting on the envelop to be fed, of a yielding belt for operating said feed-roller,

and means for adjusting said feed-roller so 2,-.

as to determine the pointv at which itshall first operate on an envelop whereby the lap of the train of envelops is determined; substantially as described.

l1. The combination with a feed-roller i" which initially acts upon the envelops to be fed, of a yielding belt for operating the same, and a swinging arml which-is adapted lto thror s aid belt beyond. the periphery of the feedroller to prevent envelops from contacting therewith; substantially as described.

l2. The combination with a box which is slotted at its ends, a shaft passing through said slots, a feed-roller mounted on said shaft which initially acts on the envelops to be fed, nuts in which the ends of said shaft' are mounted, bolts which pass through said nuts, worm-wheels on the ends of said bolts, worn,- screws which copcrate with said wheels, and a rod which iscommon to both screws; substantiallyv as described.

13. In an envelop-feeding device fora type;

writing machine the combination with a suit able receptacle, of a feeding-,roller located in the bottom of said receptacle upon which the pile of envclops normally rest, mechanism for operating said feed-roller to form a train oi' lappedvenvelops, and means for preventing contact-of theA feed-roher with the envelope whereby a single envelop may be issued from thereccptacle at the will of the operator; substantially as described.

1i. The combination with a type-writing machine, of an envelop-feeding device comA prising a suitable receptacle in which a stack of cnvelops are placed, a movable betteln in said receptacle for supporting and issuingthe bottom envelop', said bottom consisting of a feeding-roller which initially acts on the envelop to be issued, anda friction issuing-roller which is belted to and which operates said feed-roller; substantially as described.

i5. The combination With e type-Writing machine, of au envelop-feeding device eomprising' e. suitable receptacle in which e. steek oi euvelopszti'e placed, a movable bottom iu seid receptacle for supporting md issuing,r the l bottom envelop, said bottom consisting of e corrugated feedingwoller which initially acts on the envelop to be issued, and e. friction issuing-roller whielx'is belted 'to und when operates said fced-iollei'; substantially as described.

16. in en envelop-feeding device, the eom biuetion with it suitable receptacle for the envelops, of en issuing-roller, au adjustable siide located direetlyabove said issuingfrollei and which cooperates therewith, seid slide having abeveled edge for regulating the lfeed oi' seid envelopes, ineens for adj usi-in the slide toward und from 'the issuing; roller, and springs which beeta against seid slide; substentiuliy es described.

41.17. The combination Witliithe 1`eed-roller which initially nets upon. the envelope to be fed, of au issuing-roller, and means for adj usting the position of seid feednoller relativeto the pile oi envelops and the issuingroller, whereby the lap of the envelops in atrain oi' continuous feed is predetermined; substantially es described.

i8. in :in euveloli-feedingv device, the colubinetion with e suitable receptacle for the en velops, of an issuing-roller having iiietionztl suifaees at its ends only, a slide having e. bev eled edge for cooperating with said frietionzil surfaces of the issiiingioiler, and means for adj Listing seid slide relative tothe iolleigsubstentially es described.

'In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 4th (ley of December, 1895.

BENJAMIN S. 'WASH llfitnesses:

F. R. CORNWALL, HUGH K. WAGNER. 

